Representations of industrial heritage in tourism marketing materials: Analysing androcentric discourse in textual and visual content

Abstract

This study uses a post-feminist lens to examine destination-marketing material connected to three sites in Bergslagen, an area located in the central part of Sweden famous for centuries of mining activity. This region continues to have ongoing mining operations, but has also worked at developing cultural and industrial heritage interpretations of its industrial past. A rich history of development based on mines, quarries and smelting huts has created a foundation for possible re-interpretations of history for tourism and became a ground for representation of metanarratives. In this study we analyse three sites located in the area of Bergslagen ˗ Långban, Axmar Bruk (Axmar mill) and Engelsberg Bruk (Engelsberg mill). On-line textual and visual marketing materials used by these destinations allowed for the analysis of representations of the industrial heritage. Using post-feminist theory, we analysed representations of the industrial heritage in the marketing textual and visual materials of these chosen attractions. Our goal was to find the dominant representations as well as to explore what representations were missing from the stories told to the visitors. Our results show that both images and textual material continue to rely heavily on the representations of patriarchal system of Bergslagen and its industrial heritage, whereas the role of female and ‘other’ alternative narratives continue to be excluded. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of how marketing materials remain as facilitators in upholding male and female stereotypes connected to industrial heritage and the conclusions highlight the continued polarisation of gender through contemporary channels of communication.